Chateau Cos d'Estournel 2003

Two terrific efforts from this vintage, the 2003 Cos d’Estournel (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) remains one of the superstars of the vintage. It offers an opaque ruby/purple hue as well as notes of incense, camphor, licorice, crème de cassis, and graphite. Full-bodied, opulent, incredibly fresh and well-delineated, it can be enjoyed now and over the next decade. Kudos to the team at Cos d’Estournel.

This sports a pretty juicy edge, with dark currant and fig flavors and a hint of bramble in the mix. Ample tobacco, ganache and humus notes add range and character, leading to a long, smoldering finish. The slightly grainy structure is the only blip here. -- Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2030. 15,000 cases made.

Excellent quality and surprisingly fresh given the vintage, this wine is clearly ready to drink now; however, there’s no rush to open it — one of the key markers of a great Bordeaux wine is that, even if it evolves quickly, it reaches a point where it stops and holds — and that’s exactly what we have here. Expect the full array of soft leather, truffle, spice and fig. In early August, technical director Dominique Arangoïts remembers smelling cooked fruit in the vines at night. The levels of malic acid were among the lowest on record, and the alcohol was fairly reasonable as well. This has aged far better than expected, no doubt helped by the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the clay subsoils of St-Estèphe and the old Merlot vines (between 80 and 100 years old). The harvest was finished by September 25, earlier than most in the appellation.

An intense and exotic nose with mulberries and blueberries that give way to spices. This is wild, full-bodied and rich, with a plummy/porty palate and exuberant tannins. A unique power and richness, but leave this for at least eight years.

Nuanced and rich with a drying edge. Biscuity and fine, but a touch suppressed. Inky. Low key. Fades a bit on the finish. (Average group score: 17) (JR)

Hedonistic is this wine's nature. Full-bodied, concentrated, lush, opulent, deep, fleshy, long, and intense, the wine is packed with non-stop waves of ripe black, blue, and red fruits that fill and coat the palate. There is intensity, depth of flavor, length, purity, and richness. Still youthful, this will age better than most 2003s. Perhaps this style isn’t for everyone, but I loved it! Drink from 2024–2040.

Dark ruby-purple, dense at the core. Powerful, heady bouquet with red-currant notes, almost jammy, a touch of Amarena and vanilla from lightly toasted barriques. On the palate, intoxicating, complex, again plenty of red-berry yet ripe impressions, complex, endowed with tremendous power, hyper-concentrated. Somehow not a Cos, nor even a Bordeaux; at the moment everything points more to a great Châteauneuf. Ultimately, you can’t blame a winemaker if his wine isn’t truly typical when nature dictates otherwise. In its full drinking window, it will likely once again (as with the barrel samples) reach the maximum score. For now:

04: Barrel sample: the deepest color of all en primeur samples since the 1985 vintage; violet-black. Compact, incredibly profound bouquet; mahogany, black coffee, truffle, smoke and tar notes, with plenty of black fruit behind (cassis, blackberries), dried plums. On the palate, an impressive entry, an insane bundle of aromatics and volume with ripe, almost dramatic tannins; this blue and even more black-berried aromatics (Black Currant) repeats; as always with great Cos vintages, a certain Sangiovese affinity; regal yet somehow demanding astringency. The wine’s ripeness, the tannin configuration and the density of the extract lead to the conclusion that this is the most perfect Cos of the modern era. Cos has definitely returned to its own pinnacle and, with this 2003, ranks among the absolute leaders in the entire Médoc, and certainly in St. Estèphe (20/20). In May 2006, tasted for the first time as a finished bottle. Spicy bouquet, nutty notes, mocha, black peppercorns, nougat and wild cherry in terms of fruit; but it still seems very closed due to the massive concentration. On the palate, firm, meaty, praline; structurally like the now brilliant 1982 back then, but by far not as accessible in its youth. (20/20). 05: Dark ruby-purple, dense in the middle. Powerful, heady bouquet, red currant notes, almost a bit jammy, amarena touch and vanilla from lightly toasted barriques. On the palate, a drug, complex, again quite a lot of red-berried yet ripe impressions, complex, endowed with insane power, hyper-concentrated. Somehow this is neither a Cos nor a Bordeaux. Perhaps for the moment it is reminiscent of a great Châteauneuf. Ultimately, you can’t blame a winemaker for a wine not being typical if nature dictates otherwise. In its full pleasure phase, it will likely again (as with the barrel samples) reach the maximum score. This sample here: 19/20. At the Wein & Co. presentation at the Coburg in Vienna, an absolute wine of the century. 07: A magnum that still showed very little fruit, hidden behind a tremendously forceful mantle of tannins. An unbelievable force mixed with just as much potential. 09: An absolute drug at the World Wine Festival in Bad Ragaz. Thick, round, sexy and yet harmonious. A bit too much of everything! 11: Unfortunately, the 2003 Cos d’Estournel was corked. And so strongly that one could have used it as a textbook example for courses. From the teacher’s desk, you could have smelled that stinking mega-cork throughout the classroom. (20/20). 11: The nose reminded me of an empty cup of Italian mocha, with the brown-black foam still clinging to the rim, pumpernickel bread, and within these dark aromas also a very dark toasting from the barriques. Or does this basic aromatic profile come from the hot vintage? The palate is slightly vintage-port-like. Despite the massive concentration, the flow is already very juicy and the finish again shows a trilogy of dark aromas. No – you can hardly call this Cos a great Bordeaux; the basic flavor is too expansive. But as a world-class wine, absolutely. And if you want to understand this maximum score, you must, for heaven’s sake, wait at least 10 years. Even if the wine already packs a mighty punch. (20/20). 13: Very dark, black reflections. Extremely dense, deep bouquet; you can feel the heat in the form of an extreme mocha tone, Brazil tobacco, coffee, Malvasia grapes, black olives; it currently appears dry, but shows insane depth. On the palate, full, compact, almost a bit unyielding, a fine tongue bitterness carrying stem-spice aromas and smoky components. In principle, this is a prelude to what buyers of Cos 2009 will be expecting. Far from classicism – but extremely close to unquestionable world class! (20/20). 16: At a lunch at Cos. Just decanted and poured immediately, it took off at once. A powerful, opulent wine of a special, hardly comparable kind. (20/20). 18: For the moment it is closing down again and shows for the first half hour reductive notes reminiscent of a warm tire. But behind that, everything is fine. I would wait two years now. (20/20). 18: At Jörg’s birthday there was a fairly porty, even slightly oxidative bottle. Should we be worried now? (No rating). 18: Very dark purple with slightly brownish notes in the core. The nose shows smoke, candied fruit, coffee, but also traces of demi-glace (cold roast sauce). Despite its intensity, it somehow seems nasally introverted at the moment. On the palate it shows itself more present, very dark-berried. It conveys a compact sweetness, the flow seems rough and unfinished, almost sandy, the aftertaste is immense. Somehow it is great; on the other hand, it seems extracted and also a bit sinewy. I am happy to round up again if it develops positively over the next few years and harmonizes a bit more. The fan club remains undiminished. For now: 18/20. 20: Dense in the core, showing a first brick-red hue on the rim. The bouquet is of dramatic power; nougat, fresh roasting notes, rock candy, caramel, prunes, dried bananas, currants, mocha, mocha and more mocha. On the palate it continues like a grenade. Full body with expansive aromatics and Cabernet sweetness. Almost a kind of “Cabernet liqueur.” A set candidate for blind tastings. You can even put it in an Amarone tasting. It has great chances to win there, too. (20/20). 20: Extremely dark, almost black in the middle. Intense bouquet with a sense of depth, licorice, ground pepper, seems gently dry on the attack. On the second pass it shows currants, prunes, tar, Bakelite and Brazil tobacco. No longer as compote-like as in its very first youth. On the palate, full, concentrated, opulent and moving with balanced astringency. A great Cos that is increasingly heading in the direction of long-lived classicism. Has it already reached its ideal drinking window? I don’t think so. It carries a pleasure guarantee for at least 20 more years. (20/20).

Velvety, dark, dense, creamy bouquet with plums, dried fruits, mocha, graphite, dark tobacco. Velvety, dense, multi-layered, creamy palate with fine tannins, concentrated structure, diverse dark aromatics, long, dense, full finish. 19/20 drink - 2040

Deep color, a powerful nose dominated by spicy notes that today develop into an oxidative personality, oak completely integrated even on the palate, the body and texture of a great vintage, no aggressiveness or tension in the tannin, long persistence. A very generous wine. The finish is beautiful with a bright spicy freshness.

Logo on the capsule: The crown Dark color, medium intensity with some evolution. Beautiful, intense nose, with fruit that is rather fresh for the vintage, floral and truffle notes. Plush, flavorful palate, with bright flavor definition and a tight-knit structure that becomes a bit too austere on the finish. Hints of tar. Good length.

With its aromas of new wood, spice and black fruits, this promises from the start to be a powerful, polished wine. It is dense, very ripe (from the high percentage of Merlot in the blend), but still packed with tannins. It's a massive wine, bringing together the heat of 2003 with the big tannins of Saint-Estèphe. Imported by Diageo Chateau & Estates.